Murder Never Lies
by Madeline Kate
Summary: Castle and Beckett are working on a double homicide when one night, Castle brings a bottle of wine over to Kate's apartment out of the blue. Is this the start of something?
1. Chapter 1

Kate sighed and looked down at her paperwork. A double homicide and Esposito and Ryan had decided to leave her to do most of the work while they went and watched the 'big game' on tv. Castle had just left, leaving her to do the boring part of her job alone. Kate considered calling Castle for company, but decided against it; he would obviously tease her for calling so soon after he had left, just to talk.

Kate looked at her father's watch. It was 7:30pm. Kate heaved another sigh and closed her books, she would finish the work in the morning. Kate gathered her things and walked out of the precinct, waving goodbye to uniforms still doing work. Tonight Kate didn't have the mind for paperwork, details of the case were still running through her head as she rode down the elevator. 

The call had come at 9:00 that morning. Double homicide, possible suicide. Both victims female, 23. Kate could still remember their faces as she walked into the apartment block on east 42nd. A blonde girl, blue eyes and fair skin, the other a brown haired and brown eyed girl with slightly darker skin, of Hispanic descent. Ella Noreen and Earlene Lavina. They had been friends, socialites who attended college and parties together. What provoked the sudden urge to kill themselves?  
>Lanie had the answer to that one.<br>Bruises on the girl's right index fingers, indicating someone had pulled the trigger using the girl's own fingers. There were signs of struggle, they had fought back. Good. 

But the gunshot wounds to their foreheads were all too prominent and the evidence clear; someone had murdered these girls.

Kate had gone through the usual detective work, questioning suspects and family members, attempting to link together the last moments of these two girls lives, but things weren't clicking together. The victims were reportedly seen at a party at 1:00am and Lanie puts their time of death at 3:00am, so where did they go for two hours and how did they get back to the apartment on 42nd?

The elevator shuddered to halt, reaching the ground floor. Kate waited for the doors to open and walked to her car. As she started the engine and pulled into the lazy New York traffic, her mind was elsewhere, pondering the day's case work.

Kate parked outside her apartment block and waved to the doorman as she crossed the pavement towards the door. She rode the elevator to the floor of her apartment and after unlocking the door, collapsed onto the couch in exhaustion. It had been a long day.

Kate pulled herself off the couch and looked into the fridge; nothing as usual of course.

Kate shrugged off the idea of cooking and decided to order Chinese instead, its not like she was eating with anyone else tonight.

Just as Kate had picked up the phone to dial the number of her favourite Chinese place, she heard a knock at the door. Who could possibly be coming to see her at 8:30 at night?

She placed her hand on her gun, which was still in its holster as she was yet to put it away and called out.

"Hello?"

"Oh! Beckett! Are you there?"

Kate unlocked the door hurriedly. "Castle?"

Standing there, in her doorway was Richard Castle, famous writer and (to her luck) her tag-along at work. Castle uses her as 'inspiration' which she was honestly doubting. "What are you doing here?"

Castle held up a bottle of red wine. "I though I'd come over, it was a tough case today and I thought you might need something to relax with?" he explained.

"That still doesn't really explain why you're here Castle." Kate realised she was leaving Rick Castle standing, in the door-way of her chilly apartment block, with a bottle of red wine and refusing him entrance. Was she crazy? No. She refused to think of him that way.

Kate shook her head and stood aside to let him pass.

"Doesn't matter, come in Castle."


	2. Chapter 2

Castle cast a glance at Kate and she could swear she saw that twinkle in his eye, the one that she sees when he's being cheeky or when she catches him looking at her. Kate's heart skipped a beat.

Kate averted her eyes from Castle's and closed the door behind him.

"Castle, why are you here?" Kate turned away from the door to see Castle making himself comfortable on her old, worn couch.

"It's comfy." he said as he sank into the couch with a sigh.

"Anyway, I had an idea about the case."

Oh. It was just about the case.

"What is it Castle?"

"The girls. If they hadn't committed suicide, then who killed them?" Castle's face showed that he was thinking about something, although Kate wasn't entirely sure what.

"Castle, we thought of that this morning. We've been searching for them all afternoon."

"Yes, but what I'm trying to say is, what if it was someone they knew?"

"There were signs of a struggle." Kate replied, growing impatient.

"I would struggle against my best friend if they were trying to kill me. We can't rule out the possibility just because there was a struggle." Castle's eyes gleamed with a mischievous smile, he knew something.

"Castle, you're saying that they fought against someone they knew -two girls fought against someone they knew- who proceeded to shoot them with their own hands afterwards."

"Yes,"

"How could one person possibly overpower two girls? There were no signs of blunt force trauma to the heads of either of the girls, and both of them seemed to have died at the same time."

Oh. Of course. The thought dawned on Kate.

"Its possible that there were multiple killers."

"There were inconsistencies with the bruising on both victims, some seemed to be made from someone with a slightly larger fist than the other, so it could be that there were two people, one male, one female."

"Exactly." Castle looked quite pleased with himself.

"Castle, who and where exactly are these two people?" Kate realised she had been standing for the duration of their conversation and made her way over to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of Castle.

Castle smiled. We were talking about a murder! Why was he smiling?

"First we need to find out where they went during the time between when they left the party and arrived at the apartment."

Kate sighed. She already knew this.

"Castle, why did you come to tell me this? You could have just called me."

"I thought you might have just needed some company, that's all." He smiled again, sending a shock through Kate, why did he make her feel that way? No. She wouldn't think of Castle like that.

"But, you seem to be right here on your own."

Castle stood up to leave.

Kate jumped up from her place on the coffee table and walked Castle to the door.

"Uh, thanks for coming anyway Ca- Rick." Kate opened the door just as he smiled.

Castle nodded to Kate and she blushed slightly as he stepped out of the door, giving her a wink and began walking down the hallway towards the elevator.

Kate shut the door with regret and slumped down behind it as it snapped shut. Had she just missed her chance with Richard Castle?

Kate could swear she heard him laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate glanced up, gazing at the bottle of wine Castle had left on the table. She got up in search of a glass and began to run a bath. In picking up Castle's latest novel, she realised she had left it on the coffee table, it was right next to the bottle of wine; Castle almost certainly would have seen it.  
>Kate smiled and shook her head.<br>No wonder he had laughed.

The precinct was quiet as Kate emerged from the lift the following morning. Which is unusual, people were usually bustling about, getting work done. Even at 8:00 in the morning.

Settling down to do her paperwork from the following day's unfinished case, her eyes were drawn to the murder board.  
>The two victim's faces stared back blankly. Kate had to solve this case, but where did those girls go before they died?<br>It seemed they had questioned everyone possible and followed every lead, but they simply had to be missing something!

"Hey,"

Kate snapped from her chain of thought to see Castle standing next to her, holding a cup of coffee.

"I brought you your usual." Castle smiled as he handed her the large coffee.

"Thanks Castle, any thoughts?" Beckoning to the murder board with her elbow. Kate stood up and brushed past Castle, waking towards the board.  
>There was a gap in the timeline, inconsistencies in witness reports and everything was getting them nowhere.<p>

"Beckett."

Kate turned to Esposito and Ryan, who were hurriedly walking towards them, they must have something. This had better be good.

"One of the witnesses you told us to check out just let on that they recall seeing the Vic's outside their apartment around 2:30am, saying they had gotten out of a taxi."

That was new. No one had said anything about a taxi. They would have to find the driver and bring him in for questioning.

"But wait, there's more." Ryan continued. "The witness was getting back from a party himself, and couldn't exactly identify the girls, but he did say that they were making an awful lot of noise for two girls."

Ryan glanced to Esposito who carried on from his sentence. "Now here's the fun part. The witness also remembers seeing another person entering the apartment not long after the girls, but then two people leaving around 3:30am. He just figured it was one of the girl's boyfriends coming to pick them up."

Kate's minds rushed with possibilities of the case.

"Esposito, call the witness in, I want you to talk to him again, see if you can get any more out of him." Esposito nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked away, hastily speaking orders into it.  
>"Ryan, I want you to try and pull security tapes from in and around the building between 2:00am and 4:00." Ryan ducked his head and turned to make his way to his desk.<p>

"You were right Castle, there might just be two killers, and we have someone who might just be able to tell us where they were."

Kate looked behind her to see Castle poking through her notes and she rolled her eyes as he gave her an innocent look as she caught him.

"Come on Castle, what are you doing? Let's go interview a taxi driver."

Castle jumped up from his chair and grinned, he loved footwork far too much. Kate smiled to herself and gave Castle a disapproving look as she picked up the coat she had thrown across the back of her chair as she came in.

"How do we know which cab company she used? Oh, where are we going to find the driver?" Castle bustled with questions, being annoyingly curious about everything seems to be his job.

"Ryan."

Hearing his name, Ryan stretched his head above the computer's monitor.

"Did the witness say which cab the girls took?"

Ryan ruffled his papers, looking for something and then seeming to find it, he gave them the company and address.  
>After writing down the address Kate paused to say thank you, but Ryan was preoccupied with the computer.<p>

Kate felt a nudge at her back. Castle was standing right behind her, he was obviously eager to go.  
>Kate tightened her scarf and brushed Castle off as she walked to the elevator, discussing details of the case.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, whoever owns the rights to Castle does but I can tell you now, it's be awesome if I was them.**

"No, no I can't tell you what they were doing that night before I picked them up. I got a call, got the girls -they were a little drunk mind you- and took them to the apartment on 42nd. What was this about anyway? I made sure they paid their fair." The largely balding man of his late forties was trying to explain to Castle and Beckett that he had only picked up and dropped off the girls that night, as a taxi driver does. This was honestly getting nowhere.

Castle looked from the taxi driver to Kate, unable to decide who was more interesting yet he was uninterested enough to not assist in the questioning.

"Mr Grant, those girls are dead. They were murdered not long after you dropped them off. Are you sure that's all you can tell us?" Kate just wanted to wrap this dead lead up and go back to the precinct.

"Well, there was that guy who was with them before they grabbed a ride, but you've probably already questioned him anyway, right detective?"

Kate and Castle snapped to attention. None of the previous witness's from the party had mentioned the girls being with a man at any point.

"And what did this man look like Mr Grant?" Kate queried, suddenly interested, this cabbie might just be able to provide them with something useful after all.

"White, about 6'2", brown hair, quite a big fella too. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side." The taxi driver scratched his chin as he tried to remember the man. "He seemed around the same age as the girls but, I don't know if this is right; it looked like he may have been angry with one of the girls." His eyes flicked between Kate and Castle, who were both lost in thought.

"Thank you for your time Mr Grant, it is very much appreciated." The taxi driver gave them a nod as he started walked back to his cab.

Kate pulled her phone out of her pocket, hastily dialling a number and putting it up to her ear.

"Esposito, I want you and Ryan to talk to everyone at the party again. Ask them if they remember seeing a large white man, about 6'2", brown hair around the victims that night. There's a possibility he could be our killer." Kate spoke briefly with Esposito then clicked off, noticing Castle was staring at her.

"What is it Castle?" Kate raised an eyebrow at Castles fabulous display of stealth.

"I, just, ah." Realizing he had been caught, Castle seemed to be at a loss for words. A writer? Lost for words?

"Spit it out Castle, we've it a killer to catch." Kate strode past him towards her car.

"Do you want to come to the loft for dinner tonight?" Castle spat out, clearly relieved he managed it.

Kate stopped in her tracks. Did Castle just invite her to dinner?

Swivelling on the spot, Kate came face to face with Castle. Damn, she hadn't realized he was right behind her. Keeping her cool, "Are you asking me in a date are you Castle?"

Castle looked abashed at the thought, but giving his charming smile, he replied.

"I would be happy to have you over Kate, I'll see you at 6:30." Castle held Kate's gaze until he brushed past her with a laugh, heading towards the car himself.

Kate stood, a little shocked. She quickly shook of the feeling and climbed into the driver's seat, eagerly trying to decide what she was going to wear that night. But like hell she was going to let Castle know that.

Castle looked across to Kate as she started the car,

"So?"

"So what Castle?"

"What're you going to wear?"

"Oh you'll see Castle." Kate smiled, slyly. She would leave it to the writer's imagination. Castle looked as if he was having one of his weird fantasies, making a face that made Kate laugh.

Why did she get stuck with this man?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Fretting? Is that the right word to use? No, worrying would probably be better, yes. Kate was worrying about the dinner with Castle; did she look alright? Was she too dressed up? Kate hoped that her dressy, red shirt and jeans with flats was enough. What if it was too much? Kate could feel herself beginning to panic as the elevator reached Castle's floor.  
>The doors slid open and Kate shakily walked towards the door of Castle's apartment.<p>

"Calm down Kate," Kate whispered to herself as she came to the door, hesitating to knock. Letting out a breath he hadn't realised she'd been holding. Kate knocked twice, the sound echoing in the empty hallway, making Kate feel a little alone.

"It's only Castle." Kate reassured herself as he heard heavy footsteps approach from behind the door.

The door opened to reveal Castle dressed casually in a dress shirt and jeans, unwittingly making Kate feel relieved that she wasn't over dressed for the occasion.

Castle smiled.

"Come in," He gestured inside, stepping away from the door to allow Kate in, softly closing it behind her.

"Thanks for inviting me over Rick." Kate followed Castle to the kitchen, where Alexis was sitting at the bench, reading a large book. Alexis looked up as Kate walked in and her face lit up.

"Kate! We're glad to have you for dinner." Alexis closed her book with a thump and stood up, clearly excited to see Kate.

"I'm doing an assignment on Russia and I was wondering if you'd be able to help me?" Alexis stood in front of Kate, her bright blue eyes questioning.  
>Kate grinned, the girl was adorable AND incredibly smart.<p>

"Of course I'll help you. How about we go out for coffee sometime tomorrow?" Why not? She loved Russian culture, and Alexis is hard to say no to.

"Really? I'd love to!" Alexis seemed to explode with joy.

"Now, now Alexis." Castle chided, jokingly. Kate had momentarily forgotten about him.

"Lets give Kate dinner first before you interrogate her Alexis." Castle glanced at Kate. "How do you feel about home-made pizza, Kate?" Castle turned to Kate, seeming to study her with his gaze. His eyes smiled so beautifully every time Kate caught Castle looking at her, she felt something stir inside.

"That sounds great Rick." Kate returned Castle's gaze as she sat down at the bench next to Alexis, who had returned to her book.  
>Kate looked across at the book Alexis was reading, Russian literature? Smart kid.<p>

The pizza was amazing! It was made with fresh, delicious ingredients and Kate felt like it absolutely melted in her mouth.

"Rick, I didn't know you were such a good cook!" Kate huffed in disbelief of Castle's cooking skills.

"Well, I have to cook for Alexis and I, so I sort of figured it out after a while." Castle chuckled, clearly amused at Kate's disbelief.

Rick stared into Kate's eyes and Kate felt herself drawn to his azure eyes as though they were reading her like a book. Castle opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, seemingly content with their staring match.

"Kate, you'll have to come over more often!" Alexis jumped in, unaware of the two's odd behaviour. Kate blinked, pulling herself away from Castle.

"I couldn't think of anything better Alexis." Couldn't she? Would this be better than staying at home by himself with the TV and some take-out? Of course it was better, why would she think otherwise?

Castle drew himself away from Kate, he couldn't let himself fall for her! She was mesmerising, and if he got involved, something could go wrong. Castle loved being around Kate, he felt happier than he ever has been when he was around her. Castle knew he was falling for Kate and there was no stopping it, but how did Kate feel? Castle felt himself grin stupidly as he watched Kate and Alexis talk animatedly about Russian literature.

He could never leave this woman, he loved her far too much.


End file.
